Western Australia's sandy soils are some of the worst in the world for growing. There is a way to improve your sandy garden soil naturally - Sand Remedy!

Here in Perth, our sandy soils are very ineffective at holding water and with our hot, dry summers water repellency is an on-going issue. In addition, the sand which makes up the majority of gardens both in metropolitan Perth and many regional areas of WA, is devoid of most nutrients and organic matter.It needs improving considerably to ensure plants thrive, and that water used on the garden is used with maximum efficiency.

Ideal soils for gardening are loamy soils. Loam is the term used to describe soils which are a mixture of sand and clay particles. Loam is the ideal growing medium because it contains a range of different sized particles, which allow for water and air to penetrate, and room for plant root hairs to grow.

How to improve your soil?
The Sand Remedy Solution
If you want to know how to improve sandy soil into good garden loam, you need to add clay to improve the garden's soil.  This is where Sand Remedy comes in.  One of its active ingredients is a naturally occurring clay mineral which can hold many times its own weight in water. 

The mineral particles bond with sand particles meaning this unique water holding ability stays locked into your soil and creates a ‘crumb structure’. These ‘crumbs’ hold nutrients, air and water in a structure that is ideally suited to plant roots - an ideal soil amendment.

Unique Blend of Six Minerals
The unique blend of six minerals in the mix also work to hold nutrients by a process known as cation exchange. Clay particles are negatively charged, so have a natural ability to hold on to positively charged particles (called ‘cations’ (pronounced cat-irons) like nitrogen and potassium, making them available to plants as required.

The ability of Sand Remedy to keep nutrients in the soil prevents leaching of these soluble nutrients into our waterways, reducing algal blooms and pollution of our wetlands.

Sand Remedy also contains trace elements, beneficial microbes and a food source for them. This is to ensure that colonies of these microbes will thrive, and help establish the most ideal growing conditions for your plants. It is these microbes which make many nutrients available to plants in a form they can use, and aid in keeping moisture in the root zone, where it is needed.

Elements provided by Sand Remedy include:  Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, Calcium, Carbon, Magnesium, Sulphur, Silicon, Iron, Coppper, Zinc, Manganese, Boron, Cobalt, Molybdenum and Selenium in a balanced, slow release form. 

Carefully Researched
The carefully researched blend of minerals in Sand Remedy work together to ensure your garden can be as water wise as possible. 

Soil treated with Sand Remedy will grow plants that show a marked increase in drought tolerance and pest/disease resistance.  Soil may still become dry over our long summers, but is much easier to re-wet, acting like a sponge.

We always recommend an on-going soil improvement program to improve soil structure by adding organic matter (eg. Aged manure, compost, etc). For healthy plants, feed the soil!

Conserving Water
Conserving water in our dry climate is crucial.  There are many ways we can all reduce our water use in the garden - Sand Remedy is one product which will help. Improving the soil prior to planting (if you have sandy soils particularly) is important. Contact us if you would like more information on water wise gardening.

Sand Remedy is made in Perth by The Green Life Soil Company, and has been since 2001.  It is Certified Organic by NASAA (National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia).